Unless you've been living in a Buddhist Temple in the mountains of Tibet for the past few months you will be well aware that the Xbox 360 has launched in the UK. Although there has been a massive amount of coverage and speculation in the technology press regarding the 360, the general marketing has...

In every generation one video game console stands out as a leap forward in gaming. In the last generation it was the Playstation 2 which came to market, obliterating the Sega Dreamcast and revolutionizing the home entertainment market by making DVD the fastest growing medium in history.

Sexy Design; Incredible power; Music streaming and integration; Great controller

Some unsupported file formats; No HD-DVD drive; no non-MSC support; average launch line up

Only this year things are slightly different. Little Johnny might be overjoyed to find Santa has left a shiny new Xbox 360 Kinect under the tree, but imagine his heartache when he realises his living room isn't large enough for his parents to play along.

Microsoft has revealed its new console, the Xbox 360. As can be seen from the picture opposite, the console is smaller, curvy and more stylish than the console before it, with the addition of being able to stand vertically or horizontally.

The Xbox 360 S console is the best console I have owned. Unlike the PS3 or Wii it allows the user to experience the game on different levels. Right out of the box the Xbox is loaded with a 250GB HDD, a Kinect Sensor, 1 game, and 1 black Xbox 360 controller.

Comes with everything you need; Includes 1 game; Includes 1 controller; Much more stylish than it's predecessor; Doesn't get RROD; 250GB is plenty of

Expensive; Kinect gets annoying; People stopped using Kinect; Have to pay fkr Xbox Live

Now that Blu-ray has become the pre-eminent high-definition standard for discs, the Xbox 360 has yet to support it, but it still remains an excellent game console with a superior game library and online experience.

All games in high-definition; easy-to-use Dashboard interface; excellent online gaming and communications via Xbox Live; plays hundreds of (but not all) original Xbox titles; doubles as a superior digital media hub and Windows Media Center extender; online Marketplace allows for easy purchases of...

No support for next-generation HD discs, like Blu-ray; early versions of the console prone to "red ring of death" system crash; online gaming require a paid subscription to Xbox Live

As an early adopter in the Xbox 360, I was unaware of the what I was getting myself into. I had a launch Xbox 360 that lasted 3.5 years before finally succumbing to the dreaded Red Ring of Death.

Nice graphics; vast game library available; controller layout

Subscription service required to utilize many apps that are free on other devices (netflix; youtube; etc); interface not intuitive

Call it what you will. The Xbox 360 Slim, the Xbox 360 Slimline the Xbox 360 S or even what Microsoft has actually decided to go with: the Xbox 360 250GB. The name doesn't matter, what matters is that it's here and whether it's a worthy upgrade to its rather successful predecessor.

The Xbox One might be out there in the next generation, but the Xbox 360 has changed since its launch in 2005. That much is transparently clear from the updated version that debuted in 2010.

Two years on from its first outing in the UK, Microsoft brings us the Elite, a new take on the Xbox 360 console aimed at satisfying the gaming fraternity, but has the new additions to an old friend been worthwhile? We get gaming to find out.

HDMI socket; 120GB hard drive; great graphics

Power pack is massive; still noisy